Search This Blog

Talk that Drains!

Sometimes what I read in the newspaper makes me
laugh – or cry – or both. Other times I
find myself grimacing, as when I read the following: "Some psychological experts say folks
who whine and complain all the time can suck the energy and health out of those
around them." Come now. Do we really need psychological experts to
tell us that? All of us know people
whose native tongue is whine-ish or gripe-eese.
Spend enough time around these people and when you walk away you feel
like you’ve been run over by a bus (or at the very least a large SUV!). So when we see these people coming our way, we usually do our best to duck out of their way! But I think we can learn a valuable lesson from the whiners and gripers in our lives.

When we talk, we must watch the tone and content of our
words. Negative talk (griping, complaining,
sarcasm, etc.) will tend to discourage and dishearten those who hear (ala the
bus or large SUV). On the other hand,
positive talk (kind, thankful, encouraging, etc.) will build up those who
hear. Let’s purpose to be a blessing to
those around us today. But this is not
easy. Our tongues seem more prone to
grumble than express thanks. We need
help. In fact, we need supernatural help
– and lots of it. So let’s get in the
habit of praying the following to God each day “Set a guard over my
mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalms 141:3).
It is so easy to be negative, isn’t it?
That’s why we need His help!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Out with the old .... in with the new and then some! That pretty much sums up my wife's surgery this morning. The surgeon removed the knee prosthesis that was implanted during her original knee replacement of September 4, 2015 and replaced it with another one. He also inserted a rod in her femur for stability and and another smaller rod below the knee as well. In addition he removed the hardware used to repair her broken femur of November, 2015. Finally, he excised a lot of scar tissue from the original surgery and polished her knee cap (and removed the remaining cartilage - gluing a plastic "button" in its place). He was very optimistic that she will be able to "do well" once she recovers from surgery and gets through her physical therapy. She is resting comfortably now (the nerve block is good for about 12-18 hours), I anticipate a Wednesday discharge.

Today I received an email from someone who asked me this question: "How does a person know if he is called by God to serve as a pastor or a chaplain?" That's a great question. And it is a question that all of us ask at various times in our faith journey. God places opportunities to serve him before us, and we wonder if God is actually calling us to serve in that particular capacity.

Here is what I in essence said in my response. God takes all of us who have chosen to follow Jesus and shapes us to do good works - works that he has chosen in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 makes this clear). He does this through his Holy Spirit, who gives us each certain spiritual gifts (see Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4). He also does this through His works of creation (for example, each of us are wired by God with a certain personality temperament) and providence (in which God orchestrates the details and situations of our lives so that we gain valuable experience to late…

Sharon got the green light to come home this afternoon. So just after 5:00 we walked through our front door (Sharon using her walker, of course!). She had two PT sessions which left her physically drained (and in pain!) but encouraged. We realize she has a long path to walk on her road to recovery. She will have in home physical therapy until she goes for her post op appointment on the 27th. Then she will begin her outpatient therapy. Please pray that the healing that has begun will continue and the outcome her surgeon envisions for her will be realized. Having gone down this path before, we both realize it will be no picnic. But with God's help and the prayers and support of so many, we know that she can do this again. Thanks for your prayers!!!

Talk that Drains!

Sometimes what I read in the newspaper makes me
laugh – or cry – or both. Other times I
find myself grimacing, as when I read the following: "Some psychological experts say folks
who whine and complain all the time can suck the energy and health out of those
around them." Come now. Do we really need psychological experts to
tell us that? All of us know people
whose native tongue is whine-ish or gripe-eese.
Spend enough time around these people and when you walk away you feel
like you’ve been run over by a bus (or at the very least a large SUV!). So when we see these people coming our way, we usually do our best to duck out of their way! But I think we can learn a valuable lesson from the whiners and gripers in our lives.

When we talk, we must watch the tone and content of our
words. Negative talk (griping, complaining,
sarcasm, etc.) will tend to discourage and dishearten those who hear (ala the
bus or large SUV). On the other hand,
positive talk (kind, thankful, encouraging, etc.) will build up those who
hear. Let’s purpose to be a blessing to
those around us today. But this is not
easy. Our tongues seem more prone to
grumble than express thanks. We need
help. In fact, we need supernatural help
– and lots of it. So let’s get in the
habit of praying the following to God each day “Set a guard over my
mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalms 141:3).
It is so easy to be negative, isn’t it?
That’s why we need His help!